Description of TIDE

CAI's TIDE system supports district and building test coordinators throughout the testing process, from test preparation, to test administration, to post-administration. TIDE includes features that allow users to manage user and student information, order testing materials, track orders, and manage test status requests.

Figure 1 illustrates TIDE's operational functions and their place in the assessment process. At its core, TIDE contains a list of students enrolled in your schools. TIDE receives the vast majority of this student information from uploads, although TIDE has features for adding students manually. TIDE then distributes this information to the appropriate system. TIDE sends to the Test Delivery System (TDS) students' eligibilities, settings, and accommodations; this enables TDS to deliver the appropriate test to any given student in the required format. TIDE sends to the Online Reporting System (ORS) students' institutional associations; this enables ORS to aggregate scores at the classroom, school, and district levels.

Figure 1: TIDE's Position in the Assessment Process